Conventional types of remote controllable robots are linked with operator control units (OCUs). An OCU is programmed to perform only certain applications, and to transmit data associated therewith. In the event additional functionality is desired, a robotic applications developer who wants to add commands or sensor data to the data stream has two main options.
According to a first option, the additional information is piggy-backed on the existing data stream. For example, the developer could insert his/her data in the slot reserved for the GPS signal. However, this approach has two significant drawbacks: (1) It removes some functionality from the robot, e.g., the capability of sending GPS information; and (2) the user is very limited in the data rate and data format of the data he/she sends, since it must conform to the format that the robot is expecting for that slot in the data stream.
According to a second option, the data is sent over a medium other than the radio signal. For example, a module could be placed on the robot to give it autonomous capabilities, and the commands sent from this module to the robot's drive, arm, and gripper motors could be sent to the robot via the robot's fiber optic or wire tether port. However, the robot will, in general, not be able to communicate concurrently via two different media, such as radio and wire tether. Therefore, while the autonomy module is operating, the robot operator cannot communicate with the robot via the radio link. In order to restore radio communication capability, the operator would have to turn off the autonomy module and re-establish the radio communication link. Thus, this type of data integration also removes significant functionality from the robot, i.e., it disables radio communication.
What is therefore needed is a communication system capable of transmitting data to a robot without removing functionality from the robot. The communication system should be operable to insert additional data into a preexisting data stream, without excessively slowing the overall data rate of the OCU-robot communication link. The communication system should also be capable of transmitting the data in a user-selectable data format. The need for such a system has heretofore remained unsatisfied.